Strange Life of a Cat
Chapter 321 - Chapter 321 Chapter 314 Thank You Gift (Three Updates)

Chapter 321: Chapter 314: Thank You Gift (Three Updates) Chapter 321: Chapter 314: Thank You Gift (Three Updates) If the key to this matter was Zheng Tan unexpectedly taking the initiative and kicking Young Master Xiao, then Da Mi’s behavior directly accelerated the end of this crisis. Without Da Mi’s howling, it wouldn’t have stirred up such commotion, and the people nearby might not have reacted so quickly.

Fang Mengmeng was sitting with her mother, holding Da Mi, but Zheng Tan didn’t join them; he was worried.

He had only cared about kicking the threat that was Young Master Xiao and didn’t consider hiding his abilities. Now, thinking back, Zheng Tan realized that Hou Junyi’s gaze towards him was very suspicious. After coming out of the house, Hou Junyi, who had recovered a bit, described the whole incident to a police officer and looked over at Zheng Tan several times.

Apart from the police officers handling the case outside, the three children and their parents were temporarily staying at Hou Junyi’s house. Why was Hou Junyi the one explaining here? Because among the three children, he was the one who had calmed down first.

With his father by his side, Hou Junyi told the story to them. Fang Mengmeng and Chu Laiya were resting in another room, so they wouldn’t hear what Hou Junyi said.

Zheng Tan was uneasy. He moved closer, hiding behind a cabinet, and listened to their conversation.

“…At the time, Mao Dou had found a mouse, and I went over to pull it back. It bumped into a shelf, and I saw bloodstains on the wall behind… Not a lot, but the color seemed fresh, not like it had been there for very long, and you could tell by the color and marks on the wall that something shorter and wider had previously been there. The shelf was moved there later, just enough to cover the bloodstains on the wall… I also smelled something like bleach… And there was no cell phone signal…”

As Hou Junyi spoke, it was faltering, but his account was fairly clear, and his voice quavered a little. His father patting his back soothed the emotional fluctuations that began again as he described the scene. However, both the police officer listening to Hou Junyi’s account and Hou Junyi’s father who accompanied him twitched several times during the recounting. The former was because the child knew too much and was highly observant, noting many details that many adults might overlook. The latter felt that while his child carried the halo of a genius, it seemed like he had a “stupid” stamp on his forehead, and perhaps in many people’s eyes, Hou Junyi was just that. Indeed, he was more intelligent and knew more than others, but when it came to social interactions, he could be considered naive. Sometimes his words could infuriate people, and Mr. Hou had received more than one complaint from his son’s teachers.

Hou Junyi’s account was quite detailed, from the moment he entered Young Master Xiao’s house until he left, and it was from these details that Mr. Hou noticed some serious issues. Although he always thought that it might get better as his child grew up, now he had to tackle this problem. Otherwise, he feared similar incidents in the future would lead to trouble.

However, there were details that were omitted, no matter how much the police officer or Mr. Hou questioned him, Hou Junyi simply wouldn’t talk about certain things, like the part where Zheng Tan kicked Young Master Xiao.

Zheng Tan, with bated breath, listened secretly and found that Hou Junyi didn’t rat him out. He felt somewhat relieved, his heart that had been hanging finally settled down a bit. He had always found this kid annoying but now realized the kid wasn’t so bad.

“Dad, did I do something wrong?” Hou Junyi’s face looked like he was about to cry. He wasn’t stupid; after reflecting, he realized that it was often his own actions that had put Fang Mengmeng and Chu Laiya in danger.

Seeing Mr. Hou’s condition, Mr. Hou no longer asked further questions. He waved at the police officer, signaling that the officer could leave, and then began to comfort Hou Junyi. After all, this was still a child, you couldn’t expect him to cover every base. As for those questions, Mr. Hou decided to address them more slowly, focusing on resolving the current situation first.

Fang Shaokang arrived early the next day. When he received the call, he was busy in another province, but after hearing about the situation, he immediately bought the closest plane ticket to fly over. Zheng Tan could tell by his appearance that he was truly angry this time.

Since the incident occurred, no one had come to look for Zheng Tan, but this might only be temporary. There might also be a reason why Hou Junyi had not yet given Zheng Tan up. Zheng Tan kept reflecting on what Ermao had said, thinking that Ah Wu must have been close by last night and should have been able to find him.

Although Hou Junyi had not named Zheng Tan, Young Master Xiao was still there, and so were his injuries. If things were to be investigated, it was not impossible for them to be linked back to Zheng Tan.

However, after receiving a reassuring promise from Fang Shaokang, Zheng Tan felt relieved. He left the local matters to Fang Shaokang, and to avoid some other issues, Fang Shaokang decided to have Tong Qing take Zheng Tan back to Chuhua City a day early. This was also to Zheng Tan’s liking, as staying here always made him uneasy, fearing he might be dragged into joining Ah Wu’s gang.

Before leaving, Zheng Tan overheard Fang Shaokang speaking with someone about the incident.

As it turned out, Lianzi and Gui Yuan were not tracking Young Master Xiao, but the person who had been butchered by Young Master Xiao. Naturally, Young Master Xiao was also implicated. Based on the conversations overheard, Young Master Xiao was involved in many things, including gambling and drugs, with a murder case to boot. Presumably, after receiving some news that certain matters were being investigated, he watched for two days after returning to his place. He didn’t want to part with what he had earned easily unless it was absolutely necessary. After the suspect approached Young Master Xiao, the two had a dispute, and the former ended up being a tragedy. As for Young Master Xiao, someone tipped him off when they noticed something was off, and he prepared to pack up and leave. But while he was busy packing to escape, an unexpected young visitor arrived. To avoid giving himself away, Young Master Xiao disguised himself well, but he never expected the Hou boy to know so much, and although he was apparently oblivious to subtleties, he could spot the issues that others overlooked.

“He said he truly didn’t intend to kill, he just wanted to lock up the three kids first, until he could escape,” said the person talking to Fang Shaokang.

“But he didn’t ensure that the locked-up person wouldn’t face other life risks, like hunger and thirst or psychological stress–that’s just a child! And in a moment of impulse, anything could happen, perhaps one child could become a hostage, or there could be other unforeseen events,” Fang Shaokang said, while smoking. His words were a clear message to the person in front of him that this time he was determined to pursue the case, not letting go of the several involved individuals or the person who tipped off Young Master Xiao.

“I understand what you mean,” the person said before leaving.

Fang Shaokang tapped his hand on the table, took a drag of his cigarette, snuffed it out in the ashtray, picked up his coat, and walked outside.

“Heitan, I owe you one this time.”

Fang Shaokang was crystal clear; otherwise, he wouldn’t have been in such a rush to send Zheng Tan away and temporarily keep him out of this incident as a form of protection for Zheng Tan.

Zheng Tan hopped into the car, the stuff already packed, just waiting for Tong Qing to come over. Tong Qing had just been summoned by Fang Shaokang for some tasks, and it took a while before he came back, reaching to open the car door to get in, only to hear a voice from behind.

“Wait, hold on a second!”

Zheng Tan looked back, and saw Hou Junyi dragging a small box toward them, his complexion decent–which probably meant his family had done some psychological counseling. But why was this kid lugging a box over here?

Hou Junyi arrived sweating profusely, but he immediately folded the box’s handle and wheels, tucking them away, which made it look like a briefcase.

The box seemed heavy, and Hou Junyi struggled to carry it, so Tong Qing helped him with it, then looked at Hou Junyi, puzzled.

Hou Junyi pointed at the box and then at Zheng Tan, saying, “Thank you! This is just my gesture of gratitude!”

When Hou Junyi looked at the box, he was clearly reluctant to part with it, indicating how much the child cherished it. Zheng Tan, however, didn’t know how to refuse, speechless.

There was no chance for Zheng Tan to refuse, and Tong Qing didn’t know what to say, while Hou Junyi had already run back home.

When Hou Junyi returned home, both his parents were there, having taken time off to comfort and guide their child after what had happened, the three kids had also taken a leave from school.

“What did you go out for?” Mr. Hou asked. He had seen Hou Junyi leave with his little treasure box and now noticed he had come back empty-handed.

“I went to give a thank-you gift,” Hou Junyi replied as he changed his shoes.

“You gave it to Fang Mengmeng? Do girls like those kinds of things?” In Mr. Hou’s mind, Fang Mengmeng, who had played a key role, should be the one to thank, and especially since she appreciated Da Mi.

“Huh? What?” Hou Junyi was confused.

“Your treasure box, didn’t you go over to Fang Mengmeng’s place to give her the box?” Mr. Hou was puzzled, could he have guessed wrong?

“No, not Fang Mengmeng. Dad, you said it yesterday, we should repay a life-saving deed with a spring-like bounty–at the very least, give a generous thank you, so I gave the box to Heitan.”

“…Heitan?” Mr. Hou’s expression froze, “If I’m not mistaken, that’s a cat. You gave your precious box to a cat?!”

Hou Junyi still looked puzzled as he gazed at his father, thinking he had made himself perfectly clear, yet the question remained.

“…Son, I think we need to have a serious talk,” Mr. Hou sighed helplessly. In Hou Junyi’s heart, that treasure box was indeed valuable, with many things not easily found outside, and in fact, it was truly worth a lot. However, those items were not irreplaceable. If it came down to it, Mr. Hou was confident he could secure them for Hou Junyi; his real worry was how to adjust his son’s wayward thinking back to normal levels.

Meanwhile, in the car driving toward Chuhua City, Tong Qing was still silently driving, and Zheng Tan, on the back seat, flipped through the box Hou Junyi had gifted.

A thank-you gift?

Zheng Tan knew that Hou Junyi was thanking him for the help at the crucial moment, but it was the first time he had been thanked with a toolbox. The box had a combination lock, already unlocked, and the password could be reset. But what delighted Zheng Tan even more were the contents of the box.

Even though there were plenty of items Zheng Tan had never seen and couldn’t figure out what they were for, some things he recognized.

Zheng Tan took out a piece that looked like a bank card made of metal, folded it twice, and it became a knife. He folded it back, and it returned to the size of a card.

All wonderful items indeed!

Zheng Tan was over the moon with joy.

Tong Qing glanced in the rearview mirror and saw the cat rummaging through the box on the back seat. He couldn’t help feeling that the cat’s facial expressions were rather odd. (To be continued. If you like this work, please come to Qidian (NovelFire.net) to vote for it, leave a monthly ticket, your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please go to m.NovelFire.net to read.)